To be very honest, I didn’t think twice about drinking Poland Springs water from their bottles.
I picked them up at gas stations, in vending machines located within offices, at hotels (from their mini bars), etc. To me, as I saw the mountain logo and read 100% Natural Spring Water on the bottle, the product appeared to be very clean, trustworthy, and pure, and therefore, I didn’t think anything of it.
Then I did some research and couldn’t believe all the things I read about the Poland Spring lawsuit.
Could this be an instance of a major corporation deceiving many people? Or a judge interpreting the law (in this case) to mean something other than what the law was intended for? See, as we proceed through the history of the lawsuit (from the lawsuit made in 2017 to the most recent court ruling made in March 2025), you can arrive at your own conclusion.
Table of Contents
Quick Answer: What Is the Poland Spring Water Lawsuit About?
There have been allegations against Poland Spring about their product labeling since 2017. They feel the labeling is misleading, in that Poland Spring has labeled itself as 100% Natural Spring Water;
However, the water provided by the Poland Spring plant does not legally qualify as spring water under FDA standards, due to the fact that the original wells that bottled the spring water in Poland Spring, Maine no longer exist; therefore no water from that location has existed for decades, prior to Nestle purchasing Poland Spring’s
There are also some allegations regarding harmful levels of synthetic chemical compounds (phthalates) and microplastics in Poland Spring bottles, leading to their class action lawsuits.
Poland Spring (now a subsidiary of Florida-based Primo Brands) has denied all allegations and maintains/products claim that they are completely in compliance with FDA regulations.
A federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in February 2025. And thus, the class action lawsuit is still in progress.
The Origins of Poland Spring Water
Before the lawsuits, there’s a genuinely good origin story here.
The history of Poland Spring encompasses the positive aspects of this product’s beginnings. In 1859, Hiram W. Ricker started to commercially utilize a natural spring in Poland, Maine. Always a believer in the healing powers of this water source, he began using it and sold it to local residents.
Since the founding of Poland Spring, it has always been a true spring water product and widely enjoyed in New England and beyond.
Then the corporate ownership merry-go-round started:
| Year | Event |
| 1980 | Perrier Company acquires Poland Spring |
| 1992 | Nestlé acquires Poland Spring via Perrier takeover |
| 2021 | Nestlé sells North American water brands to private equity for $4.3 billion → rebranded as BlueTriton Brands |
| Nov 2024 | BlueTriton merges with Primo Water Corporation → becomes Primo Brands (NYSE: PRMB), headquartered in Tampa, FL |
When people want to know who owns Poland Spring today, the answer is Primo Brands. This chain of ownership is a big deal in court, as any ownership change causes a reshuffle of who is considered the legal owner and responsible for defending claims about the product.
The Class Action Case 2017
The Poland Spring class action lawsuit dates back to 2017, when there was a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Nestlé Waters North America (Case No. 17-01381, Patane v. Nestlé Waters North America Inc.) by plaintiffs who made some pretty astounding allegations.
The Plaintiffs’ Claims:
The plaintiffs claim that not a single drop of Poland Spring Water (as the FDA defines it) is from a natural spring.
Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged:
What Legally Counts as Spring Water?
This is the crux of the entire case, and it’s more technical than most people realize.
The FDA defines spring water as water collected only at the spring itself, or through a borehole that taps the same underground formation that feeds the spring. The water must also flow naturally to the surface, or be pumped from a borehole that is hydraulically connected to that natural flow.
A former Syracuse University earth sciences professor, hired by the plaintiffs, testified that Poland Spring extracted pond water and surface water from some of its boreholes. He also argued that several of the company’s alleged “springs” were essentially man-made.
The judge called that a “genuine issue of fact”, legal shorthand for: this is a serious, unresolved question that deserves a trial, not a dismissal.
Poland Spring and its parent companies have pushed back firmly, arguing their sourcing practices comply fully with FDA standards and that state regulatory agencies in multiple states independently approved their water as genuine spring water.
So both sides have experts. Both sides have arguments. That’s exactly why this case is still in court.
How Did Poland Spring Respond?
Poland Spring, through Nestlé Waters, then BlueTriton, and now Primo Brands, pushed hard to get this lawsuit thrown out entirely.
Their defense rested on three main pillars:
- Regulatory compliance, FDA and state-level regulators approved their sources
- Independent geologist testimony, their own experts supported the spring water classification
- State-level approvals, eight states signed off on Poland Spring as genuine spring water
Primo Brands has stayed firm and consistent in its public messaging. As recently as January 2025, the company stated:
“Poland Spring brand bottled water is 100% spring water. We remain confident in our position and look forward to successfully defending against the remaining claims.”
The company also scored a partial win earlier in the litigation. A federal judge dismissed some of the plaintiffs’ claims, including those related to label changes, reasoning that once consumers know about the allegations, they can choose a different brand. Not a satisfying answer for people who already bought the product for years, but it did narrow the lawsuit’s scope.
Poland Spring Water Lawsuit Update: What Happened in 2024–2025?
This is what most people want to know right now. Here’s the timeline of recent developments:
December 31, 2024, Judge Refuses to Dismiss
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven, Connecticut, issued a pivotal ruling; he declined to dismiss the lawsuit.
The core false advertising and misleading labeling claims move forward. The judge specifically stated it remains an open question whether Poland Spring qualifies as genuine spring water under the laws of eight states:
Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New York · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island
January 2025, Defense Wins a Round
Connecticut Federal Judge Vernon D. Oliver denied the plaintiffs’ motion to throw out part of Poland Spring’s expert report. Primo Brands called this a win, saying the court found the plaintiffs’ arguments “unconvincing.”
The scoreboard is mixed, with neither side landing a knockout blow. The case, Patane v. Nestlé Waters North America Inc., continues to move through the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
One Key Clarification
There has been no Poland Spring water recall issued at any point in connection with this litigation. This is a labeling and sourcing dispute, not a product safety emergency that triggered a recall.
The Microplastics Lawsuit: A Separate but Related Issue
While the 2017 spring water case grinds through court, Poland Spring also faces a newer, arguably more alarming lawsuit, this one focused on what’s physically in the water, not just where it came from.
A separate proposed class-action filed against BlueTriton Brands alleges the bottles contain:
What Are Phthalates?
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals that manufacturers add to plastics to make them more flexible, durable, and long-lasting. The lawsuit argues there is no safe level of phthalate consumption in food or beverages.
Central to this case:
Consumer Reports independently tested Poland Spring and found 4,217 total phthalates per plastic bottle serving, higher than amounts found in Pepsi or Gatorade.
What About Microplastics?
Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments that have become a pervasive problem across the entire bottled water industry. The lawsuit cited studies linking their ingestion to:
Studies included in the case reportedly found microplastic particles in more than 90% of bottled water tested, with as many as 325 plastic particles per liter.
The Core Argument
The lawsuit’s logic is clean and direct: Poland Spring calls itself 100% Natural Spring Water. The word natural, by any reasonable consumer standard, means existing in or caused by nature, not made by humans. If you fill a bottle with synthetic phthalates and microplastics, you cannot honestly call the contents 100% natural.
“Labeling Poland Spring as ‘100% Natural Spring Water’ is deceptive and confusing,” the complaint states.
Not the First Rodeo: The 2003 Lawsuit
Here’s something that often gets overlooked in coverage of the Poland Spring lawsuit; this has happened before.
Back in June 2003, nearly two decades before the current litigation, Poland Spring faced a strikingly similar lawsuit. Plaintiffs alleged the water wasn’t genuine spring water but heavily treated common groundwater. That case also raised claims about a collection site sitting above a former trash dump and an illegal sewage disposal area.
September 2003:
Nestlé settled the case for $10 million in charitable donations and consumer discounts spread over five years, while explicitly not admitting to any of the allegations.
The same water kept flowing. The same brand name stayed on the bottle.
The fact that near-identical claims are now being litigated again in federal court, and a judge has refused to dismiss them, strongly suggests the 2003 settlement resolved the case financially, but left the underlying questions about water sourcing wide open.
Is Poland’s Spring Water Safe to Drink?
No government agency has issued a Poland Spring water recall, and no health authority has declared the water unsafe.
The central legal debate is about labeling accuracy and consumer deception, specifically, whether you’re paying a spring water premium for something that doesn’t meet the legal definition of spring water.
That said, the microplastics and phthalates allegations raise legitimate health questions that go well beyond labels. Those concerns apply broadly across the bottled water industry, not to Poland Spring alone. The science on long-term microplastic exposure is still developing.
For consumers who want certainty:
Home filtration systems, like reverse osmosis, remove many contaminants and offer a cost-effective, environmentally friendlier alternative to buying premium bottled water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Did Poland Spring lose the lawsuit?
Not yet. The case is still active. A federal judge refused to dismiss the core claims in late 2024, but no final verdict has been reached.
Q. Is Poland Spring water real spring water?
That’s exactly what the lawsuit is trying to determine. Primo Brands insists the water meets FDA spring water standards. Plaintiffs and their expert witnesses argue otherwise. A federal judge has ruled the question is genuinely unresolved, enough to proceed to trial.
Q. Was there a settlement?
An earlier lawsuit in 2003 was settled for $10 million in charitable donations and consumer discounts, with no admission of wrongdoing. The current 2017 class-action lawsuit has not been settled.
Q. Can consumers get compensation?
If the class-action lawsuit ultimately succeeds, consumers who purchased Poland Spring water during the applicable time period may be eligible to participate in a settlement or damages award. Nothing has been finalized.
Q. Who owns Poland Spring now?
Poland Spring is currently owned by Primo Brands, a publicly traded company (NYSE: PRMB) formed by the merger of BlueTriton Brands and the former Primo Water Corporation, headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
The Bottom Line
The lawsuit against Poland Spring is not merely litigation regarding the legal text. It deals with complex consumer and business ethics, as well as how publicly traded companies advertise their products.
Many consumers have little idea of how the marketing of bottled water works. Many of them rely on what the label says when making purchasing decisions. The questions at stake in the Poland Spring suit will help to define how consumers feel about the bottled water industry.
So was there ever a spring in Poland?
In the end, the courts have yet to deliver their final ruling. Today, the Patane vs. Nestle Waters North America case continues to be heard in the U.S. District Court. Nestle is defending its brand that over 40 million consumers trust each day; the same brand many of them consume every day and many of them, like myself, have never realized what is actually in that bottle.
